Amazon cuts Memphis, keeps Nashville in HQ2 search

The new Amazon sortation center in Nashville is part of the company's strategy for Sunday delivery and also means jobs for locals on Wednesday Sept. 30, 2015, in Nashville in Tenn.(Photo: John Partipilo / The Tennessean)

Nashville was named a top-20 finalist Thursday in the search for the home of Amazon's second American headquarters while Memphis was eliminated from the running.

Memphis offered Amazon $60 million in cash incentives in November for the "HQ2," which would have come with a $5 billion investment and the direct creation of as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs. The city also created a social media campaign, #MemphisDelivers, to attract Amazon.

“We came together and gave it our best shot," Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said in a prepared statement. "The good news is that this exercise showed us new ways to showcase our city that we are already using to attract other businesses."

Holly Sullivan of Amazon Public Policy released the following statement:

“Thank you to all 238 communities that submitted proposals. Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough — all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity. Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation.”

A number of Memphians responded to the Amazon decision by suggesting the city redouble efforts to tout Memphis, improve schools and attract companies.

"We ought to use the rejection as a galvanizing event," said Rev. Ken Whalum Jr., a former Memphis school board member. "Our leadership is still in denial about the quality of the public schools."

"I’m a self-professed gadfly and people think because you criticize you don’t love, but I love Memphis and that’s why I criticize," said Whalum, pastor of New Olivet Worship Center at Woodland Hills. "I think we need to wake up. If we don’t get our schools together we won’t ever attract the Amazons. And we could lose the FedExs and the AutoZones and the ServiceMasters of the world. We’re at the tipping point of no return now."

Brian Stephens, chief executive of Caissa Public Strategies and an insider in local political circles, was heartened by the campaign to attract Amazon.

"The thing I was happiest about is we were in the game," Stephens said. "For years we were not going after enough companies. We’re competing in the world economy now. I’m glad we did this. We need to keep doing it. We need to fish for more companies."

The preparation of the $60 million incentives package for the Amazon bid sparked interest in the way Memphis recruits companies, Stephens said. The Greater Memphis Chamber should harness that interest as it steps up efforts to promote the city around the world as a good place to work and live, he added.

"I’ve lived in a lot of places. Memphis is a cool city,” Stephens said. “The chamber has done a good job of marketing the city. But we have to accelerate it. This is a galvanizing moment if we can go forward on this. Everything in the future is about liveability."

Bank of Bartlett vice chairman Harold Byrd singled out the widespread effort to prepare the bid for the the Amazon project. He said it stood out for the way it unified people.

"I was so pleased to see all the cities and the chambers all together on this," Byrd said. "In the past, there has been a lack of teamwork. This last effort was so fulfilling to me."

The community effort and unity was a common theme for those involved in the process, even if Memphis missed the final cut.

“I was disappointed we didn’t make that list of Amazon’s,” said Mark Herbison, senior vice president at the Greater Memphis Chamber, echoing the sentiment of the community, from Memphis, Shelby County and the suburbs, cooperating in the pursuit.

Herbison said he was positively surprised by the volume of information forwarded to the chamber from various companies and organizations when the call went out to gather data for the Amazon bid. For example, he learned software coding clubs are common in the region and the subject is taught at the elementary school level.

“There’s a tremendous amount of stuff going on in our community,” Herbison said. “‘We’ll be a target for future projects. Amazon is building more offices around the country, IT offices, data offices.’’

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter at @ryanpoe.